OpenStack is quickly becoming the cloud infrastructure technology choice for organisations offering SaaS, IaaS and PaaS, with increasing numbers of vendors opting for hybrid cloud approaches. These hybrid clouds can vary wildly depending on what is required of them – sometimes a public cloud component is only needed for periods when there’s a higher demand for processing power, and sometimes a company is tying together some services based in a public cloud with their own private cloud. Their flexibility is a driving force behind their widespread adoption in the industry and the biggest IT companies are all positioning themselves in this market space – just a few days ago, for example, HP announced the general availability of its OpenStack Juno-based Helion distribution, joining the likes of Intel, Mirantis, IBM, Rackspace and many more. OpenStack is behind almost all of the emerging cloud computing services.

Which means that if you’re a Linux professional, it’s essential that you undertake OpenStack training now in order to keep your skills sharp and remain competitive. There’s been a tremendous rise in OpenStack-related jobs over the last two or three years, and a recent IDG survey found that 84% of companies plan to use OpenStack in the near future, but that 55% of those companies also reported they are struggling with the staffing to do so. Even for the more traditional IT roles, knowing how to architect, deploy and administer OpenStack clouds can still make all the difference to a successful application in today’s landscape.

5 Reasons to train with Red Hat

Red Hat’s plan is to have thousands of Red Hat certified OpenStack professionals, just like it has over 50,000 Red Hat Certified Engineers, and it has started very strongly towards that goal

Red Hat’s OpenStack training and certification leverages 15 years of experience in the largest Linux distribution in the world

This training is the most comprehensive in the industry, covering in-depth aspects of OpenStack such as administration, networking, messaging and high availability

Red Hat customers have the flexibility to train and certify in physical classrooms, virtual classrooms or online at their convenience

Red Hat certification isn’t just about answering test questions. Candidates must pass a hands-on, practical exam to demonstrate their grasp of the technology and its real world applicability

Free OpenStack exam sessions

On 6 November there will be two free OpenStack exam sessions hosted by Red Hat and open to any OpenStack Summit Paris attendees. The Red Hat Certified System Administrator in Red Hat OpenStack exam (EX210) is a hands-on exam that tests the skills, knowledge and abilities needed to create, configure and manage private clouds using the Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform. Those passing the exam will be accredited their RHCSA in Red Hat OpenStack.